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The Arrangement
Koraja - Nebulos The new capital of Nebulos, the city of Koraja is a testament to the resolve and determination of the Nebulan people. Barely a year after the end of the Decepticon occupation of the planet, this city was built from the ground up, from a sleepy farmland to a bustling metropolis. If there could ever be said to be a paradise it would be Koraja. Sky skimmers use ecologically friendly propulsion to swoop over the city, traders of all persuasions line the streets and at the centre is the Fountain Of Unity, a huge sculpture of a chorus of hands - green, blue, white - all the peoples of Nebulos, holding up a huge bronze bust of the planet. <'Decepticon'> Soundwave says, "NEBULOUS HAS SENT OUT DISTRESS SIGNALS." <'Decepticon'> Weirdwolf says, "They actually called? Desperate must they be...." <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "Or they are faking it and want to kill us all." <'Decepticon'> Soundwave says, "FORCES ATTACKING: UNKNOWN." <'Decepticon'> Weirdwolf says, "Is not it still poisoned? Not much do we can" <'Decepticon'> Weirdwolf | Monzo butts in "Hey, watch it mutt. That's m'home you're talking about." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "Decepticons, Nebulos is to be OUR conquest, and no one else's! The Hellbender is leaving in fifteen minutes! If you have nothing better to do, then you'd better be on board!" <'Decepticon'> Contrail says, "I suppose would could all have lovely detox showers." <'Decepticon'> Soundwave is silent as he considers 'WWGD?'. <'Decepticon'> Lord Zarak adds, "Don't worry about the poison--as Blueshift once pointed out, all you need to do is pack a lunch and don't drink the local fuel and you'll be fine." Soundwave has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Weirdwolf says, ".. And trusting *Blueshift* we are?" <'Decepticon'> Lord Zarak adds, "Well, even HE is right now and then." <'Decepticon'> Soundwave says, "STANDING ORDERS ARE TO INVESTIGATE OUTSIDE SOURCES THAT THREATEN THE EMPIRE. MAINTAIN OFF-PLANET PRESENCE. A TEAM WILL BE FORMED TO INVESTIGATE." Contrail has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Well, if it involves *space*, then I am the expert......" <'Decepticon'> Soundwave has encrypted this channel. Velum has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Soundwave says, "AUTOBOTS ARE MOVING TO INVESTIGATE." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "....Tsk, Of course. Well- they shall provide us with target practice then. I wouldn't mind some of that...." Scoop has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "If that mess with the Coalition showed us anything, it's that the Autobots will attack us first and foremost even if they have no reason to! Kill any Autobots you see!" <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "With pleasure." Blast Off has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Weirdwolf | Monza gruffs. "We'll stay on the ship to make sure no one tries to sneak on it while yer all down there. Weirdo's still recoverin' from the smelter explosions and not on full field clearance yet." Sanguine has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "I'm disappointed, Weirdwolf. I'll expect you to slaughter some Autobots afterwards to make up for this absence!" Hound has arrived. <'Decepticon'> Weirdwolf | Monzo heys, "It -was- Grimlock he had to deal with y'know." Weirdwolf on the other hand just cackles. "Oh, not worry sir. Once find this 'Wraith' I do, it shall be the -true- fear that he will find, and not on his side will be it. Hehehehe..." <'Decepticon'> Blast Off says, "Yes. Bring me his head. Well, bring Scorn his head. Whatever the case, the reward for his head still stands." <'Decepticon'> Scorn says, "Heheh." THE HELLBENDER Scorponok sits on the command chair on the bridge of the Hellbender, watching Nebulos appear on his viewscreen as it transitions out of FTL. It appears that a space battle is already in progress between what ships the Nebulans have and the unknown assailants. Scorponok turns to Soundwave, who is presumably also on the bridge, and growls, "SOUNDWAVE. Send this message to all known frequences: I, Commander Scorponok, demand to know the identity of Nebulos's attacker, unless they are too afraid to reveal themselves!" Scorponok grimaces at something, then grunts, "Zarak, not now!" THE HELLBENDER Scorponok sits on the command chair on the bridge of the Hellbender, watching Nebulos appear on his viewscreen as it transitions out of FTL. It appears that a space battle is already in progress between what ships the Nebulans have and the unknown assailants. Scorponok turns to Soundwave, who is presumably also on the bridge, and growls, "SOUNDWAVE. Send this message to all known frequences: I, Commander Scorponok, demand to know the identity of Nebulos's attacker, unless they are too afraid to reveal themselves!" Scorponok grimaces at something, then grunts, "Zarak, not now!" Contrail stands in the background, filling out the crowd scene. She's going to need her insides scrubbed, given how Nebulos is... Also, this is probably a trap? But she can't tell Scorponok, "I told you so." Space Shuttle sits in a spaceship... which is an odd experience every time it happens. Which isn't often. He's here to lend his expertise on matters of space combat and maneuvering. He's also still rather tired after his recent encounter with Wraith and Grimlock in the Kaon Smelting Pools. (Yet another reason it was just as well to let an inanimate spaceship do all the work of flying for once.) "Open a hatch and those of us with space flight capabilites will go find out for ourselves who the mystery assailants are..." Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Right hand mech, Soundwave, stands at his station which looks out over the space battle. While he hated Scorponok because he's not Galvatron, there was such a thing as a united front against an enemy. "AS YOU REQUEST, SCORPONOK." He presses a button on the communication console as he tracks the enemy ships frequencies, already in the process of channel decryption. "ATTENTION UNKNOWN FORCES. YOU STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF THE DECEPTICON WARSHIP 'HELLBENDER', AND OF ITS 'COMMANDER' SCORPONOK. YOU WILL SUBMIT TO QUESTIONING AND IDENTIFICATION PROCESSES IMMEDIATELY OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES." He removes his finger from the button, then returns to his duties, awaiting the inevitably polite and well-measured response of the unknown assault party. Knowing the galaxy as he does, he's already a halfstep away from jamming everything in the area, and two steps away from just hacking security wherever he can. A little knowledge, as they say... ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) "Why was anyone attacking Nebulos out of nowhere?" Scoop wasn't one to pace typically, but right now he was doing so across the bridge of the Autobot ship and back again. "Not to mention someone that's not been identifyable yet. There's something to this that we don't know yet." He stops and turns to face the front again. "Any farther communications?" "Not other than the Decepticons announcing their intentions to make a bigger mess of this," replies whatever generic gumbie-bot is watching the communications station. "Yeah, no surprise there. Nebulan should be coming into range now." He hits one of the other controls to bring up the main viewscreen. And show all the ships facing off with the scrambling Nebulan defenders. Plus the Hellbender arriving. Scoop sighs, scratching the side of his helmet with one hand. "Can't say I reconize any of those craft yet." Meanwhile Holepunch is going around handing out pamphlets to the rest of the Autobots present. "These are your reminders not to injest any local fuel sources. Or what to do in the case of accidental intake to prevent severe energon poisoning." This isn't what Velum wanted to see when dropping out of warp, staring out from the ship's bridge at an ongoing battle between her people and some unknown force. Teeth bare as her jaw clenches and a fist comes down on her exo's piloting chair, Velum able to feel her rage rising. "Who'd be cowardly enough to attack Nebulos at a time like this? They haven't even recovered fully from the Coalition disaster!" It doesn't help that Soundwave's voice can be heard over the communication system either, the mention of Scorponok drawing a grunt from her. "Zarak.. I'm not surprised." It's his homeworld too, afterall. "Open a line to all frequencies." She says calmly, easing back from her fury to take on a more commanding role. When the channel is open she relays, "This is Lt. Commander Velum of the EDC and Autobots. Identify yourselves and your reason for invading Nebulan airspace or risk facing retaliation." If they have to attack, so be it. <'Decepticon'> Soundwave says, "AUTOBOT FORCE TRANSMISSION DETECTED." <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "No doubt trying to defuse the situation!" Sanguine lingers at the back of the bridge like a shadow, always on hand and ready to intervene should things got hot but otherwise doing her best to stay out of the way. The Holepunch is handing out standard medical information does draw a look from the doctor, though she seems to be appraising his advice more than giving him an evil-optic for delivering it. Sanguine nods once, a shallow gesture of approval, and then returns her attention to the viewscreen. "This is escalating quite nicely." The medic observes to no one in particular, but does open the compartment on her left forearm to make sure that everything is in its place. <'Decepticon'> Soundwave says, "THEY ARE UNSURE OF THE ATTACKING FORCE AS WELL." Scorponok glares at the back of Soundwave's seat as he works. Yeah, he doesn't care for Soundwave, either. He didn't much care for how Soundwave phrased his order as a "request", which it really wasn't. Even so, a transmission is sent to both sides. "We are the K'Gardians!" it begins, the video feed featuring an alien of the same species as K'Gard! "Yes, our great hero was murdered by you robots, and to honor his brave sacrifice, we renamed our world and our people after him!" And the galaxy may never know what they were originally called! "And we shall avenge him by attacking Nebulos in the same way that Scorponok attacked our world--starting with its hospitals!" The K'Gardian fleet deploys troop ships to the surface, many of which are able to slip by the besieged Nebulan ships. "We will not be deterred by anyone or anything, especially not by you backstabbing Autobots!" the alien says before closing the transmission. Scorponok growls, <> Out loud, he yells, "HELM, land us on Koraja!" The gumbie helmsman says, "But sir, Soundwave said--" "What *I* said matters here and now!" Scorponok snarls, and that settles it for now. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Contrail also bails out of the ship while she still can, rather than landing in Koraja, even if she isn't Blast Off. Stupid poison planet... Flipping into a modified F-35B Lightning II, the sky is not the limit. Blast Off responds, <> He radios those under his command, <> The Combaticon then also heads out the hatch and into space after Contrail, transforming into his shuttle mode. Ah, feels good to be out here. He heads towards the enemy fleet. With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Soundwave regards Scorponok's orders blandly. It was to be expected. Too much testosteroil in him, the Comms officer suspected. He flicks one last button to start jamming this fleet, since he'll be planetside momentarily and would prefer no issues getting shot. He shoulders his concussion rifle, then begins his slow, inexorable march to the shuttle bay doors. "JAMMING SIGNAL IS IN PLACE. AUTOBOTS ARE NOT OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES, AND ARE CONSIDERED TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY." He pauses until the ship breaks the atmosphere, then surveys the area, wind blowing past him...which does nothing since he has nothing flexible to flow with the wind. He leaps into the fray, joining the others, though nowhere near as fast. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Scoop lets out an exasperated sigh at the broadcast. "Well this is going to be a mess. But we can't let that stop us." He steels himself as he turns to face the other Autobots. "While I can't say I blame them for wanting to get back at Scorponok and Zarak for past actions, this is entirely the wrong means of doing so, dragging innocent Nebulans into the conflict. Are we going to stand for it?" He slams a fist into the opposite palm. "Of course not! We've got ships in orbit, and invaders going to the surface apparently. I'll trust the rest of you to go where you know your abilities can be best used. Unless they actually get in your way, focus on repelling the invasion over the Decepticons. Those people down there are the first and foremost priority, we'll worry about the Decepticons only if they become a problem. Is that clear?" He gives a assuring nod. "Of course it is. We may be a bit out matched and not on the best of terms with Nebulos either, so now is the time to show them as well what we stand for. So then." Scoop turns and points dramatically out the viewscreen. "AUTOBOTS, ROLL OUT!" Combat: Scoop inspires Velum and Hound with noble and heroic words! K'Gardians? She was afraid of this. "Damnit, they don't know the whole story." Velum growls softly after they sever the connection and turns to the communications mech, "Keep hailing them and transfer the feed to my exo when they respond." As for the others.. She nods to Scoop as he gets to work bolstering the troops and presses a button on the console to speak through the ship's overhead systems. "Autobots, prepare to deploy. We'll be landing in Koraja and I want protection of Nebulan citizens from both K'Gardian and Decepticon forces to be your top priority." With that said, she stands from her seat and closes her exo's cockpit, unholstering rifle from her back while nodding to the rest. "Let's do this." Sanguine tilts her head as the K'gardians lay out their purpose. "What an impressionable race." The doctor observes. "It's not as if we renamed ourselves the Optimusbots when he passed." Contrasts drawn, Sanguine does frown when the aliens mention that they are attacking hospitals. "They don't seem to have inherited any of their namesake's virtues." At Hound's call the helicopter bot turns and begins to march out. "Let's hope that the Decepticons are playing by the same rules." ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Climbing up into her large exo suit, Velum straps in, fires it up, and is ready to fight F-35 Lightning II supposes that she'll just... go attack that Fleet. Yes. While she's in space and such. That seems reasonable. Hopefully no one will notice that she's not on the shuttle... Combat: F-35 Lightning II strikes K'gardian Fleet with her Zap! (Disruptor) attack! Well, attempting to hail the K'Gardians again may be somewhat difficult thanks to the jamming, though Scorponok is grateful for it since it means that Zarak will stop trying to dial Llyra's freaking cell phone. "UNLESS I see Maximus, then he takes priority!" Scorponok snaps at Soundwave before he also hurls himself out of the ship. Moments later, some alien tanks are rolling up to the New Koraja Memorial Hospital, raising their turrets up at the building before... THWAM! Scorponok lands on two of them, one for each foot. "SHOW NO MERCY!" he roars, claws stretching out to the sky. Space Shuttle is near Contrail, also heading to attack the fleet. He asks her, "I wonder if these fleshlings will ever learn that they cannot stand against Cybertronians? Why do they keep being so suicidal?" He directs a few laser bursts at a K'Gard ship. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Why so Suicidal? (Laser) attack! Soundwave takes a moment, tapping his shoulder tab, "LASERBEAK, BUZZSAW, GARBOIL." Yes, he added Garboil. "OPERATION: AERIAL SUPERIORITY." then leaps from the Hellbringer, his own little flier squad in tow. It'll do its job well enough, and Decepticon pride being what it is, he's got to do things personally. He times his jump to land on the back of one of the K'gardian ships, landing with authority. Without any sense of pretense, he hunches against the wind, then raises his rifle to crack off several shots at the ship beneath him. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Combat: Soundwave strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Laser attack! Hound was there the whole time! Just...silently lamenting the senseless loss of life or something. Yeah, that's it. "No, I don't suppose they have," he responds to Sanguine, then follows her to get ready for surface operations. His holograms will likely be most useful down there, though who knows with these K'Gardians? "Knowing the Decepticons, they probably won't. It's a nice thought, though." Exosuit is out of the ship before it even fully touches down, breaking into a sprint the moment she hits the ground and making her way towards the hospital just in time to see Scorponok crush two tanks beneath his feet. Damn, she didn't want to run into him. Not yet. And she doesn't want to kill these K'Gardians, but they may give her no choice if they're not willing to listen first. "Stop this!" Her exo's speak systems amplify her voice over the chaos when stopping in front of the hospital doors to stand tall and face down the encroaching force. "Nebulos isn't your enemy, you've been misled! Silas, the leader of MECH, fooled both your people and mine to further his goals. You must believe me and pull back your forces! Nothing good will come from this needless invasion if you continue!" Combat: Exosuit sets her defense level to Guarded. By the time the Autobot shift is nearing the surface Scoop has already made his way to the exit with whatever Autobots are going to follow him. And unsurprisingly doesn't actually wait for the ship to land before he leaps out, transforms during the decent, and hits the ground with a jostle in payloader mode. Wheels already spinning, he chugs in the direction of the nearest landing party of enemies. "While we understand you guys being upset, this is not the way to deal with the matter. You're making yourselves no better than Scorponok was attacking your own world!" "I don't think they're in the mood to listen to reason," Tracer remarks from the cab. "Sadly you are probably correct," Scoop resides himself to what needs to be done. "Holepunch, non-lethal tactics if you please." "If you insist." Holepunch leaps out onto the hood of the vehicle and transforms into gun mode. A few moments to power up to his lowest output and then he fires, sending a blasting wind that's more force than anything else to blow the invaders off their feet to disrupt their efforts. Scoop drops to the ground on his big wheels and deploys his awesome shovel. Sanguine exits from the Autobot ship before it reaches the ground. She falls for a few meters in her full robot mode, and then transforms into her helicopter form, blades spinning lazily at first and then whipping into a frenzy that lifts the doctor upwards after Sanguine pours on the power. <'m heading towards those hospitals to see if I can rescue some Nebulans.>> The doctor notes over the comms. < will return if anyone needs my services.>> Being a medical helicopter, she can fit a few people, and intends to ferry away as many Nebulans from the carnage as possible. Sanguine's rotors snap to and begin to spin while her torso folds inwards to form an Agusta A109 helicopter. Combat: Orange Payloader strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Blowing away the compatition attack! -1 Alas, the K'Gardians not only notice Blast Off blasting big holes in one of their frigates, they also notice Contrail right beside him blowing up a fighter, so they do the sensible thing--they shoot at them with a spray of lasers! On the ground, the K'Gardians make no distinction between Autobot, Decepticon, or Nebulan, and so a fusillade of armor piercing rifle rounds, tank shells, and rockets come at them from the assorted K'Gard forces, which show little sign of wanting to talk, though Scoop does manage to non-fatally knock over and incapacitate some of the TF-sized K'Gardians. Some of the Nebs are smart enough to recognize that that's an Autobot heli coming to help them, and nurses begin to ferry up patients on stretchers to the roof, but it's a slow process for obvious reasons. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Combat: K'gardian Fleet misses Space Shuttle with its Flak Cannons Area attack! -5 Combat: K'gardian Fleet misses F-35 Lightning II with its Flak Cannons Area attack! -5 Combat: K'gardian Fleet strikes Orange Payloader with its Flak Cannons Area attack! -5 Combat: K'gardian Fleet strikes Soundwave with its Flak Cannons Area attack! -5 Combat: K'gardian Fleet strikes Scorponok with its Flak Cannons Area attack! -5 Combat: You took 3 damage. Combat: K'gardian Fleet misses Exosuit with its Flak Cannons Area attack! -5 Repugnus has left. Repugnus heads back to OOC-Land. The jamming signal in the area disperses. And Garboil! Soundwave raises his head, noticing the tactical fire. Pretty brave of them to fire close to their own ships, but they display the prowess to justify that decision. With one last blast into the back of the ship he's riding on, Soundwave leaps off towards the ground, where his flight was more of an advantage. He slams into the ground on one crouched knee, then gestures forward towards one of a pair of tanks, "LASERBEAK, GARBOIL. ATTACK." Paired laserfire comes slicing into the mobile infantry, as the Tape Commander himself rushes the side of one, then grasping at at it, attempts to overturn it. Not for mercy's sake of course, more for expediency... Combat: Soundwave strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Tape Commander Smackdown attack! F-35 Lightning II replies to Blast Off, "If they weren't idiots, they would have surrendered already. Therefore, they are idiots." "See, they can't even hit us!" Just look at this dodging going on. It's great. There's weaving and BWAAAHM noises. This will be in the cinematic trailer, for sure. Contrail loops around and fires back at the fleet! Scorponok sneers down at Velum, ignoring return fire. "You foolish little girl! You can't reason with them--they're clearly fanatics, and I know fanatics! Once they set their minds on destroying someone, they'll do it no matter the cost to themselves! Stay out of my way!" He slaps aside a K'Gardian APC, and it just so happens to be flung right in Velum's direction, screaming K'Gardians flying out the back hatch as it spins through the air! Combat: F-35 Lightning II sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: F-35 Lightning II strikes K'gardian Fleet with her 25-mm GAU-12 cannon (Laser) attack! Combat: Scorponok strikes Exosuit with his Titanic Claw Area attack! -6 Combat: Scorponok strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Titanic Claw Area attack! -6 Space Shuttle arcs almost lazily out of the way, avoiding the attempt at retaliation. "Yes, I do believe you are correct, Contrail. Let us weed out the weak and stupid then, shall we?" He flies back towards the fleet, fully smug and confident of his ability to evade such stupid creature's attacks. The shuttle speeds right through the space between several K'Gard ships, sending a strafing run of bombardments as he flies right between them! Combat: Space Shuttle strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Weeding Out Nature's Weak and Stupid Ones attack! -3 ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Hound has a little more sense, waiting for the ship to get closer to the ground before he jumps out. After all, unlike Sanguine, he can't fly. Once he's out, though, he immediately starts up his holograms, and several other Hounds jump out of the ship right after him. "Please, stop this! Too many have died already!" he shouts over the noise of battle. Even if they wouldn't listen when Velum tried it, there's no reason to stop trying...hopefully. Combat: Hound strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Hologram attack! Boom boom boom! Several of the shells hit, but explode mostly harmlessl against Scoop's shovel, which does a nice job of containing the shrapnel as well. Little more than a few scorch marks are left in their wake. "Once again I must compliment Quickmix's craftmechship." Smoke belchs out of his exhaust pipe as he he churns along. Which isn't really much speed wise, but he's got plenty of mass to put behind it. "Let's put it to the real test!" He drives up to the one of the tanks to wedge the shovel up under the treads of the vehicle. Hydraulics hiss and metal groans in the effort as he attempts to heave the tank off the ground, and then flip it over on top of the others. Fortress Maximus has arrived. Combat: Orange Payloader sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Orange Payloader strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Shovel Tank Tossing attack! So much for talking. When the fleet opens fire Velum is quick to jump out of the way of the cannon fire, tucking and rolling back to her feet in a swift motion and fixing burning gaze upon the fleet. "That's your decision then. ..So be it." Rifle is stored on her back and she rushes for the incoming foot soldiers, meeting them head on to fight hand to hand. "You'll not take Nebulos while I'm here!" She hisses and strikes a soldier in the face, sending him wheeling back into two others, but pauses when they look in shock behind her. Velum overhears Scorponok before she sees him, and unfortunately when she turns she also sees the APC flying right for her. "Argh!" The vehicle tears up the ground as it sweeps past, slamming into her exo and crushing both it and a few soldiers against the hospital building. Thankfully her suit is sturdy, crushed armor sparking, but still functional, as she crawls from the impact site. "Hn.. No one is at fault here, Scorponok, and you know it! Killing them would only risk further retaliation against Nebulos!" She tries to pander to Zarak's side of the two minds, but doesn't hesitate to open front panels and fire off bundles of EMP darts that splinter during their descent and rain on the enemy. That includes Scorponok. Combat: Exosuit sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Exosuit misses K'gardian Fleet with her EMP Darts Area attack! Combat: Exosuit strikes Scorponok with her EMP Darts Area attack! Combat: You took 5 damage. Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Scorponok's Agility. (Crippled) Agusta A109 doesn't bother trying to reason with the K'Gardians, that's not her mission. Rather, she cycles her comms to focus in solely on the mission while trying to pick up some Nebulan signals. It's nice to have hands in robot mode, but there's nothing quite as freeing as flying, even if the doctor is just a helicopter. Still, she attempts to weave through K'Gardian fire to reach one of the hospital roofs, setting down and throwing open her side door. "Move as quickly as you can with the injured." She says calmly to the Nebulans. "I'll make as many trips as I am able." Combat: Agusta A109 sets her defense level to Protected. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Fortress Maximus' armour plates splits open, accompanied by the distinct transformation sound, as his body reconfigures itself into the form of an interstellar battleship. Soundwave easily levels the pair of tanks between himself and his tapes' attacks. Up in space, Blast Off and Contrail's combined attacks send two of the K'gardian vessels careening into each other, and they explode brightly! Velum disables a K'Gardian IFV, and Scoop sends a tank formation slamming into itself all over the roads. Battered and apparently outmatched, you can't fault the K'Gardians for not fighting fiercely in spite of everything, and they step up their attack this time by either charging at the Cybertronians in hand to hand, or ramming into them--even in space! Combat: K'gardian Fleet's Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities attack on Space Shuttle goes wild! Combat: K'gardian Fleet strikes itself with its Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities Area attack! -2 Combat: K'gardian Fleet's Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities attack on F-35 Lightning II goes wild! Combat: K'gardian Fleet strikes itself with its Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities Area attack! -2 Combat: K'gardian Fleet's Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities attack on Orange Payloader goes wild! Combat: K'gardian Fleet strikes itself with its Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities Area attack! -2 Combat: K'gardian Fleet's Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities attack on Soundwave goes wild! Combat: K'gardian Fleet misses itself with its Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities Area attack! -2 Combat: K'gardian Fleet's Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities attack on Scorponok goes wild! Combat: K'gardian Fleet strikes itself with its Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities Area attack! -2 Combat: K'gardian Fleet's Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities attack on Exosuit goes wild! Combat: K'gardian Fleet strikes itself with its Ramming Speeds of Various Velocities Area attack! -2 ...and they spend most of their time crashing into each other. <'Decepticon'> Soundwave says, "SCORPONOK, FORTRESS MAXIMUS HAS ARRIVED IN ORBIT" F-35 Lightning II watches the sheer incompetence of the K'gardians. "Look, they're totally proving my point, Blast Off!" Of course, she is pitiless and shoots at them all, anyway. Combat: F-35 Lightning II strikes K'gardian Fleet with her AIM-120C AMRAAM attack! Scorponok, apparently deciding that the K'Gardians aren't that much of a threat--to him--decides to instead focus on the annoyance that just sinked several EMP darts into him, which, while it is making his legs stiffer, isn't slowing his overall gait an iota. "Oh, I disagree, Velum--killing them will make sure they never retaliate against anyone else ever again! And who is it at fault doesn't matter--what matters is WHO SURVIVES!" He snaps out a claw towards her, trying to grab her and bring her to his face. "And unfortunately for you, since neither Zarak nor myself much cares for you, you won't be one of the survivors!" And he squeeeezes. <'Decepticon'> Scorponok says, "What!? Rrrgh... once I crush this insect, he's mine!" Combat: Scorponok strikes Exosuit with his Pincer Trap attack! -3 Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Exosuit 's Agility. (Crippled) Cybertronian Battleship says, "+ooc I will save you!" Soundwave was quite tempted to play more havoc with the Fleet's nav beacons, tacnet and fire control, but...Hound beat him to the punch. He surveys the area, radioing in to the Con forces about the new arrival. Absently, he fires a shot into the underside of the tank, sending it ablaze. Considering what was likely to happen, Soundwave goes for the tactical choice of regrouping. He takes to the air, then lights down near Scorponok and Velum, moments after the vicious attack. He looks on impassively...and maybe looming just a little bit, as his birds of prey draw in behind him. His head tilts up towards where Maximus was radar-located, and waits. Combat: Soundwave sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Soundwave takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Space Shuttle evades the K'Gardian attack yet again. "Too slow, you pathetic organics... run along home while you still can... Yes, indeed, Contrail! It's simply another example of how feeble-minded organics are compared to us superior mechanical life forms. What ever happened to organics who know their place? Lately we only seem to encounter ones with an attitude. I *do so hate* a lack of manners.... Well, time to hammer some "manners" into these creatures, see if it sticks..." He races along between fleet ships again, enjoying how easily he seems to dart in and out of their fleet while they are powerless to stop his attacks. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Mind your Manners attack! -4 ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Sky Lynx has arrived. Damn, that hardly even affected him! Velum won't back down from a fight, not even against someone Scorponok, but she still wheels back during his approach, groping for the rifle at her back. By the time she grabs it she finds a massive pincer reaching out and snapping her exo up, pinning arms to her side and frocing her to drop the gun. "I'd like to see you try!" She roars in a challenge when staring down the Headmaster, struggling in his grip until he applies the pressure. Systems light up red and sirens blast in emergency as vitals start to get crushed and compressed, armor groaning and cracking under the stress while lines spark and hydrolic fluids start to leak. "Damnit.. Damnit!" Velum snarls, trying to stay calm as she works furiously at her console, doing her best to ignore the fact that her cockpit housing may not hold up much longer. Luckily she's got a trick up her sleeve still. With a hiss and click the cannon at her back suddenly shifts up to lock on her shoulder and take aim at Scorponok, who's likely staring down at a growing light. "Get your damn claws off me!" Velum rages and pulls the trigger when the power reaches its peak, the cannon exploding with a lance of high powered energy point blank at his face. Combat: Exosuit sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Exosuit strikes Scorponok with her Nebula Cannon attack! Combat: You took 9 damage. A few moments ago. There's a small, localized, brilliant flash of light above the planet of Nebulos as a space ship bursts through hyperspace and promptly cruises down towards planetside like a flaming meteor. Some of the K'gardian ships still in orbit and Nebulan space defenses responds by popping off shots towards the intruder, but luckily they miss their mark. Now. A yellow beam of energy drills down towards Scorponok from up above the heavens, but this isn't divine intervention, as a mere second later Fortress Maximus himself pierces through the clouds in his battleship mode, << Unhand her, Scorponok! Matching force with force with the K'Gardians will only inspire further retaliation. There's got to be a better way to go about this. >> And the would-be invaders make a really big mess of themselves. Scoop and his partners just sort of roll back and watch as the rediculous pileup occurs. ".. I guess that disoriented them more than I thought it would." But these K'Gardians or whatever they called themselves were intense, certainly they weren't going to stop just at one mishap if they're that determined to make whatever point they are trying to make. The payloader flips back into robot mode, a targetmaster gun in either hand. "Time to live up to your name, Tracer." He takes aim with the laser-guided weapon, targetting several of the remaining troops. Or more accurately, he uses Tracer's additional accuracy to aim for their weapons and armor rather than the aliens themselves before opening fire with several short ionic bursts. He's still trying to disable and discourage them more than cause greavious harm. The payloader more or less stands up on its end and folds the shovel back to become a heroic robot. Combat: Cybertronian Battleship strikes Scorponok with his Laser Beam (Disruptor) attack! Combat: You took 9 damage. Combat: Scoop strikes K'gardian Fleet with his Laser-Guided Ion Blaster attack! -1 Combat: K'gardian Fleet is completely disabled. Agusta A109 accepts as many Nebulans as she can into her cab, and then departs from the hospital rooftop. The doctor keeps herself low and fast, dodging (perhaps a bit violently for her passengers) any incoming fire. And there is more than a little incoming fire. The pileup above might have disrupted the K'Gardian attack, but death continues to rain down on the Nebulans below, even falling bits of the K'Gardian fleet are hazardous for the tiny, vulnerable flesh things. Sanguine sets down a distance away, identifying a Nebulan position, so that she can be unloaded of her passengers and then return to the fray. "War is the same on every planet, more or less." The doctor observes to no one in particular. A couple of the hologram Hounds have tanks and various other things thrown through them, fading out in bursts of static at the contact while several of the objects collide with other K'Gardians. The real Hound, in the meantime, checks to make sure that Sanguine has safely made it to the roof of the hospital. Okay, good, she can take care of them, and in the meantime he'll see if he can knock some sense into these K'Gardians on the ground. Soundwave erks, and retreats into the background while Scorponok is easily distracted. Anything else at this point was just blood for blood, same ole same ole anyway... He'd be standing by for repairs later with a convenient excuse, of course. Sky Lynx transforms into an exquisitely designed transport shuttle. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Scorponok takes the Nebula Cannon right to the head! There's a brilliant flash of light as Scorponok reels from the blast. Is this it!? Is this the end of Scorponok?! However, a mere moment later, when the flash subsides, Scorponok's head is still quite intact, despite the white-hot crater burned into his helm from Velum's cannon. The Headmaster pauses, smirks, then laughs a great, horrible bellowing laugh before finally aiming his Anti-Gravity Cannon at Velum and snarling, "MY turn!" But then there's a new challenger as he's blasted again from above, head snapping up as he knows immediately who it is! "MAXIMUS!" Looking around and noting that the K'Gardians are beaten, Scoop's accurate fire destroying the K'gardian weapons, Scorponok roars, "Decepticons! Now, focus your efforts on the Autobots--" But THEN, Zarak detaches himself from Scorponok and orders, "WAIT! All Decepticons, cease fire immediately!" <> he adds via radio. <> The fleet is indeed trying to book it--what's left of it. "Now, Galen!" Zarak says, smiling up at the descending Maximus. "We've let her go, alright--" Unintentionally, but nevermind. "--now how about you say you and I... talk?" <'Decepticon'> Lord Zarak says, "Again, cease-fire on the *surface* of Nebulos." "Manners and death are indistinguishable: they both make organics quiet and unseen," Contrail says cheerily. Anyway, she's still in space, so she can still keep shooting, by Scorponok's orders, so she does keep shooting. You say, "!attack contrail=death cannon" Space Shuttle comes back towards Contrail and flies not far from her. "Indeed. It is certainly an improvement over the noise and chaos of such riffraff in general." The Combaticon doesn't fire, since the enemy is beginning to retreat, and he is still tired from his previous encounter with Wraith. He builds up his energy reserves instead- since there are still Autobots in the area, and now they are the bigger potential threat- and target. Combat: Space Shuttle sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Space Shuttle takes extra time to steady himself. Pass ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) If you're going to blow the animation budget, you need to go all out, and nothing quite says 'all out' like throwing Sky Lynx into the mix. Making liberal use of his FTL (and the fuel to support it) the Lieutenant Commander arrives on-scene and in style courtesy the plume of burnt fuel in his wake, dropping to standard sublight speeds as soon as the navigational computers alert him of the proximity to chaos and bedlam. Remaining in his shuttle-form for a moment, the Lynx takes the time needed to assess the situation at hand. <> Shuttles are meant to be transports, unimposing, and this is the primary reason there's no transformation on his part just yet. Loudspeakers come online, "Attention! I am assisting in the evacuation of any and all civilian populations at risk of harm or death. While I will not initiate aggressions with any force present, I will not hesitate to defend those who cannot rightly, and justly, defend themselves. Rest assured, test this policy at your own risk." He cuts the external emitters. <> Exosuit expected her shot to white Scorponok's head clean off his shoulder, but to her horror it doesn't even phase him despite the wound. It's this realization she's left with when staring down the barrel of his own weapon. Her suit's systems are steadily failing and her cannon won't be able to fire again for at least a few minutes. Acceptance of defeat slowly begins to trickle in at this point as the Nebulan leans back in her piloting chair. A warrior's death it is, then. And she's thankful for being on Nebulos when it happens... But death will have to wait another day for her, Velum perking and looking up when laserfire strikes Scorponok and Fortress Maximus descends from above to face him. Zarak makes himself heard, however, drawing a snarl from Velum. "What good can come of you talking at this point?" Combat: Exosuit takes extra time to steady herself. Pass Cybertronian Battleship descends down towards the earth and drops down onto the ground in his robotic mode. Heat mirages continues to emit from the large Autobot's body, a testament to the tremendous heat that he had to endure while traveling through Nebulos' atmosphere. Fortress Maximus cautiously approaches Scorponok, his visored optics first gazes down upon Velum in his nemesis' clutches and then at the anti-gravity cannon wielded by said nemesis, before finally settling upon Zarak himself, "I'm willing to talk, Zarak..." Fortress Maximus' head pops off and transforms into Galen, who promptly lands upon his partner's shoulders. Galen folds his arms across his chest at Zarak, "...but I would like to think you're above using bargaining chips to drive a discussion?" Fortress Maximus' current form begins to reconfigure itself, shrinking in size, and he eventually emerges in his robotic form. Negotiations are for the Bots with a bit more hardware on their chests. Sanguine continues to do her ferrying work, not being much good at healing Nebulans (not without her microtools, anyway) and there are no K'Gardian anatomical textbooks handy for a quick study. Better to get people away from fires and structurally unsafe buildings. Scoop draws back his arm and twirls Tracer in his hand as the now smoked weapons drop to the ground. ".. please don't do that.." "Oh, sorry." Scoop flicks the gun over his wrist to latch onto his forearm. There's a brief twitch as Scorponok starts to order the Decepticons to turn on them, but then Zarak cuts him off. Hmmm. Zarak is always up to something, but it would be a shame to not capitalize on the lull. "Alright gents, now would be a good time to just cool off a little." He walks over to pick up one of the D'Gardians lying on the ground. "This fight is over. You'll be taken into custody and treated properly if you just stand down, and we can just sort this out." He starts trying to get the remaining troopers gathered together. The K'Gardian threat seems to be neutralized for now, and Hound turns to see what's going on with Velum. Oh, oh yeah, that's not good. He's not really sure how he didn't see it before, but if anybody can get her out of there, Fortress Maximus probably can. he encourages Velum nonetheless, feeling he should offer /something/. But, physically speaking, he's sure he'll be more useful helping the others ferry wounded away from the scene. "Oh, plenty of good, my dear Velum!" Zarak says, removing his helmet. "For you see, I did not come here to devastate Nebulos in another pointless stalemate. No no--that's what Cybertron is for!" He can't help but smirk a little at that remark. "Actually, I genuinely did come here to help, and I have done so! Now, Galen... let's consider the situation here. Yes, I will admit, Scorponok and I did anger a fair portion of the galaxy with our retaliatory strikes on the Coalition of the Brave members, but the simple truth is that Nebulos's military, after this recent engagement, is in rather a mess right now. And with a galaxy full of angry aliens that might see Nebulos as an easy target, well, it needs someone to protect it..." Space Shuttle circles back towards the planet just as Sky Lynx arrives. Hmmm, interesting. For the moment, he doesn't have any specific orders, so he follows Sky Lynx down towards the scene below. Though he does it from a far distance, so it just looks like happenstance. He gets slightly slowed down by reentry into the atmosphere but soon catches up and swoops over the scene, transforming into his root mode as he does so. The Combaticon watches all the organics below with disdain, but is perfectly content to not to have to deal with the disgusting things. He crosses his arms and wonders aloud to no one in particular, "Why do you Autofools care about these weak organics so much, anyway? Some of them just proved how stupid they can be!" Then he continues hovering there, awaiting orders from Scorponok. Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Combat: Blast Off takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Exquisite Space Shuttle - Sky Lynx drops down to land near the evacuation efforts, his cargo doors opening to allow passenger onloads. <> His scanners keep a good focus on Zarak and Scorponok, though... namely the latter, the separation cogs on standby to release his top-half if he needs to intervene on Velum's behalf at a moment's notice without interrupting potential passenger boarding. Blast Off is noted, but the combaticon's outburst fails to draw a response. Well, maybe a passive ping from a targeting system...but that's just to let the other shuttle know someone's listening (and watching) him. Exosuit grimaces up at Zarak, grumbling a little under her breath as he tries to talk with Galen. Thankfully her comm systems haven't been damaged, so she hears Hound's words of encouragement and eases her tension. <> If she makes it out of Scorponok's clutches alive she'll be surprised. "what are you trying to get at?" She interjects, glaring through her exo's visual systems. "If you're suggesting we team up..' She trails off, not even able to comprehend the thought. Galen narrows his eyes in clear displeasure when Zarak mentioned the retaliatory strikes on the Coalition of the Brave worlds, "You've brought the war back into a full circle with your thirst for vengeance. Cybertron and its allies didn't need to flex its muscles to remind the galaxy not to bare its fangs at them again." The ex-World Watch leader removes his helmet as well to demonstrate his own good will, however reserved it might be, "With the amount of attention that you have managed to attract to Nebulos, the planet would need Cybertronian protection, but that would be more than either of our side can possibly muster, the planet is poisoned after all." "Now, Blast Off," Lord Zarak says, raising a finger at the Combaticon like he's a schoolteacher instructing him on some harmless topic, "Remember that THIS weak organic was smart enough to get himself binary-bonded to a big, strong Decepticon, so keep that in mind! Anyway, Galen, it's hardly so difficult as you describe. Yes, Nebulos is poisoned, but the sun's light hasn't been, and we can quite easily set up solar collectors on Nebulos's moon for gathering energy, as well as mine the surface for Helium-3. And we possess several Powermasters on our side who can process the poisoned fuels with no difficulties whatsoever!" He says, lowering his eyes at the ground. "Unfortunately, you are right about us not being able to work with you directly--you Autobots are far too naive and foolish to be much of use in a "team-up." So instead, we could focus on operating in, say, shifts. One day Autobots could be patrolling the space around Nebulos, the next Decepticons could be patrolling it. All to make sure the planet stays safe. And that's what we all want, isn't it?" Sanguine's handling medical matters. Hound and Sky Lynx can keep an eye on the rounded up soldiers, and on Scorponok should Maximus need help. So Scoop transforms and chugs over to undo the tank pileup he partially helped cause in the holographic confusion and start pushing it out of the road so proper emergency and security responders can get to the site. Scoop drops to the ground on his big wheels and deploys his awesome shovel. Combat: Your COMBAT flag has been cleared. Blast Off notes Sky Lynx's ping and smirks a little under his faceplate. The egotistical Combaticon is fully confident of his ability to dodge anything the much larger shuttle might care to throw at him. However, he also respects Lynx as a shuttle, so he's not really looking for a fight either. He is sure to ping back, however, maintaining battle readiness, just in case. Sanguine flies by, and the Combaticon tilts his head idly. Helicopters always remind him of Vortex. "Vortex would not waste his time like that.... Or at least he'd find more... *creative* uses for these creatures. Of course, if it were up to *me* I simply wouldn't deal with the things at all..." Then Zarak shows that he *heard* Blast Off, and the shuttleformer blinks and straightens up slightly. Oh. Uh. Yeah. His arms uncross and he finally nods politely to Zarak. "...Understood." He stills looks disdainful, though. Combat: Blast Off takes extra time to steady himself. Pass "Leave a shift of Decepticons in charge over the planet? You're insane." Velum glowers at Zarak, still running her mouth despite still being stuck in a precarious situation. "You'd never release it from your grasp if that happened." To Galen she tries to reason, exo trying to weakly shift beneath the vice gripe of Scorp's claw. "Galen, we can't drag more people into this! We'd be splitting up Nebulos even further with this kind of occupation." Exquisite Space Shuttle - Sky Lynx chuckles softly at Blast Off's discomfort, even it it was courtesy Zarak's scolding (and apparent ploys in politics). He won't get involved, though, that is Fortress Maximus' domain. His rest in military matters. Though, there is a bit of concern worth showing about the proposed shifts. <> Sky Lynx continues to stand by for any loading, though he is still keeping his focus on Scoponok and Velum. "Scorponok, please be a gent and release my ally. I do refer, gladly, to my previous remark about defending those who are not in a position to defend themselves as a polite reminder." Galen's first instinct upon hearing this bold plan is to reject it outright. Decepticon 'protection' over Nebulos?! It's sheer madness! He didn't give up most his humanity and go into exile from his own planet to drive the Decepticons out only to deliver it back into their hands, even if it's only periodic. However there's now the very real threat of Nebulos being constantly attacked by other galactic races, this planet's innocence has ended, as much as it pains and saddens the ex-World Watch leader to admit. Galen thinks for a moment... there's been so many close calls, and all it takes is one delayed or unreceived transmission for help and Nebulos would become a wasteland. The stakes are high. Galen then looks across at the battlefield, he sees the destroyed buildings, and finally the wounded Nebulan soldiers. Some have injuries so grave that he's certain it'll be fatal. Galen bites down into his lips, what a crazy place this galaxy has become. He looks at Sky Lynx and listens to his comrades' advice, it's very close to what he's thinking but he has one more condition to demand to Zarak, and thus he looks back to his nemesis, "You'll just have to figure out a way to get along with us in joint patrols, but we stay out of the Nebulan affairs. We patrol the Nebulan space and that's that. That'd be more than enough to deter any further acts of aggression towards Nebulos." Sanguine has left. Sanguine heads back to OOC-Land. "Oh, of course," Lord Zarak says. The body of Scorponok wordlessly releases Velum, a rather eerie sight since he's headless. Zarak, meanwhile, sighs, shaking his head. "I suppose that we will indeed have to find some way to get along, in that case. I will make sure to send those Decepticons who have been binary bonded in these patrols. Perhaps seeing Nebulos will remind the Nebulan half of the partnership that they have something important at stake. And I quite agree--I shall remain out of Nebulan politics. I don't think my dear daughter would let me get involved again anyway. It's a pity, really, but you know how she is, don't you, Galen?.." That last remark was tinged with a bit of bitterness. Blast Off watches Velum be released by Scorponok, and really doesn't care either way. He just wants back up into space and away from all the disgusting organics. ...He's being a bit quieter about his disdain now, though. So they've made their decision. Velum doesn't like this one bit, but she keeps her opinions to herself now that Galen has spoken. She has bigger things to worry about anyway, the Nebulan jostled hard in her seat when she's released and hits the ground hard on its back where hydrolic fluids and coolant begin to pool. "Ngh.." Velum grunts, hitting the release on her console and opening the cockpit to take a breath of that long missed Nebulan air. It draws a sigh from the woman before she unclips her crossbelt and tries to climb out and stand on her battered suit. "Galen." She calls all the way up, looking determined. "If he's sending his men here then I volunteer my time to help your side." With a hiss of pressure the cockpit to the exo opens up, Velum climbing out of her battlesuit Galen watches closely at Velum being released before looking back to Zarak, "Likewise, I'll do the same. We don't have as much resources to spare, but the Nebulans who have opted for the binary bonding process are patriots and will be twice as vigilant when protecting their homeworld. I'd imagine it'd bring some sense of normalcy to some of them, defending a homeworld they are familiar with." He then pauses as Zarak brings up Llyra. Awkward. Considering some of her recent involvements with the Coalition, Galen can't quite say he knows Llyra as well as he did, certain things has changed, but there are of course others that never will. Galen lets out a restrained sigh, "Yeah, I do... and maybe it's for the better that she's beyond the reach of our meddling, whether or intent is for good or ill. Things never seem to work out right does it? I'll let the Autobots know of what needs to be done, I trust you'll follow what you've agreed to the letter as well, Zarak. Our world. It can't withstand another war like this." Galen's voice is tinged with regret. Lord Zarak smiles. "I knew you would be reasonable, Galen. You always are. We'll work out the more specific details later--for now I need to requisition some supplies we'll be needing for this little arrangement." He transforms back into Scorponok's head, and the Headmaster Commander scowls. "Well, Zarak's methods aren't terribly satisfying," Scorponok grunts. "But I DO like my prizes well-preserved! Heheh. Don't think you're off the hook, though, Maximus. The moment you leave this system I'll come for you! DECEPTICONS! To the Hellbender!" He launches himself skyward. < wish I could say I planned it, but I can't say I'm not pleased with the result!>> Zarak transmits over Decepticon frequencies. Exquisite Space Shuttle - Sky Lynx watches as Zarak calls for the withdraw and just holds his post for the purposes of assisting with the evac. <> Blast Off hopes he will *not* be here frequently. Glad to finally leave, he gives one last disdainful "meh" to the scene below and then follows Scorponok back up to the spaceship. Another slightly weird experience riding in a shuttle instead of flying through space himself.... Galen doesn't return the smile, he knows well enough that the only time Zarak would offer any praise to him is when the old geezer got something advantageous. What's advantageous for Zarak is usually very bad for Galen and the others. This itself leaves a bad taste in his mouth. However Zarak wouldn't be Zarak if he isn't always one step ahead of Galen, and putting the guy in situations he'll regret. Dat old bugger! "I'm already regretting it..." Galen mutters underneath his breath, as he turns away and plugs himself back into Fortress Maximus. The large Autobot seemingly comes to life once more and responds coldly, "At least you'll be picking on someone your own size now, Scorponok. I'll be ready for you." Fortress Maximus turns around to the other Autobots and sighs, "We have a lot to do here, Autobots. There's plenty of wounded, and many more trapped under rubbles and wreckages. Let's see to it that they're all recovered and brought back to the nearest medical facilities. Alright Autobots, let's move out."